Robert Ryan: The Man and His Films

[RedRiver]

The Set Up is probably my favorite Ryan movie

It's pretty high on my list of movies, period.

ABOUT MRS. LESLIE. Hmm...I don't know this one. I just checked IMDB and I'm intrigued. It sounds like something I'd enjoy, if not actually rave about. Theatrical, melodramatic. Interwining stories? You say Shirley Booth, I'm there. An actress we should have seen more of.

"Oh, Hi, Mr. B!"

[JackFavell]

Hee hee!

Sorry for the aside.... I like her best as Dolly Levi, in the superb film version of The Matchmaker.... she's brilliant as she was in pretty much EVERY movie she ever made. Skip Hello, Dolly and go right to this unjustly neglected gem, where the characters constantly break the fourth wall. It's a favorite movie of mine.

It's the third time in two weeks that Born to Be Bad has come up in discussion in various places.... I obviously am being led to this movie.

[RedRiver]

No shortage of reasons to skip HELLO, DOLLY! That one really doesn't fly!

[pvitari]

What, no Robert Ryan thread? (I searched for it on google too.) How can this be? One of cinema's most complex actors -- an actor who digs deep into his own soul and shows us the results on camera -- needs his own thread. (If there is a thread for him, please point me to it.)

Robert Ryan used to say he didn't like many of the characters he played, because in real life he was a social progressive, even becoming a pacifist. But on camera he was dark and brooding and frequently was cast either as tortured types or out and out villains. Even in lighter roles you always feel there is something simmering under the surface. He is always thinking, that one, even while he's *feeling.*

Anyway, what really started this is that while scanning in some Ben Johnson stuff from an old magazine (Screen Stories, July 1949), I found this picture of Ryan and I wanted to share. :)

[moira finnie]

Hi Paula!
Since we have this thread devoted to Robert Ryan in the "Movies and Features on TCM" area due to his films airing on the network and in honor of his 2009 centennial, I hoped that it might help to merge your post with this thread. We also have a thread devoted to a Q & A with one of our past guest stars and a member of the SSO, the actor's thoughtful daughter, Lisa Ryan (mookryan), who also has a beguiling and wry sense of humor. That discussion can be seen here.

Love that pic of Bob!

[pvitari]

Moira, thank you!!! I had a feeling there was a Robert Ryan thread around here somewhere but I couldn't find it -- even searching on Google. So I really appreciate you putting my post into the right place.

Yes, that is such a lovely pic of Ryan... some things are too good to be kept to oneself.

[charliechaplinfan]

He's a guy I'm appreciating more and more although most of the movies I've seen him in he's the bad guy. I have just seen On Dangerous Ground and loved it.

[RedRiver]

he didn't like many of the characters he played

That's an actor. A doctor doesn't like disease. He still treats it. I've heard stars go on about this role and that role. "Now, I'm not REALLY a Nazi, don't you know?" Get over it! You're an actor. That's the point. Witness Mr. Robert Ryan.

[RedRiver]

I hope Ms. Ryan returns to this site someday. It would be an honor to correspond with her.

[MissGoddess]

Paula that picture is stunning!!!

[Rita Hayworth]

Paula that picture is stunning!!!

Same here too!

[moira finnie]

Hey, did you guys know that Robert Ryan did some television in the '60s? I just came across this Kraft Suspense Theatre entry from November 7, 1963.

[youtube][/youtube]
Cast: Robert Ryan, Katharine Ross, Adam Roarke, Peter Helm, Sharon Farrell, Phyllis Avery, Jay Novello, Leonard Stone et al.
Director: Elliot Silverstein.
Music by John Williams.

[MissGoddess]

I had no idea, I look forward to watching it...and it's in color? Remarkable what you find.

[MissGoddess]

Interesting show. The wife was even scarier than the amoral kids. I never saw Ryan so shook up as by those empty porcelain faces of his wife and daughter.

[moira finnie]

Interesting show. The wife was even scarier than the amoral kids. I never saw Ryan so shook up as by those empty porcelain faces of his wife and daughter.

After seeing your note, I finally watched the entire program. Oh, boy, that wife played with such scary blankness by Phyllis Avery was a real Stepford automoton (how fitting, since Katharine Ross was her baby girl!).

I love the moment about two thirds into the show when Robert Ryan lets fly with that scary sardonic smile as he spits out: "I wonder how a pack of unfeeling, conscienceless dogs would act?" and "You are going to say goodbye to your hostess, aren't you?" as those creepy kids try to leave. I really thought I could see those kids shudder when they finally realize that he sees through them and is having none of it.

*Mild Spoiler*

At the end of the program I was left wondering what happens now? I would guess that both marriages break up. One divorce is probably inevitable but the older couple might learn to live with it--if it can be swept under the carpet or if one of the two finds an outlet for their rage and guilt.

I really enjoyed this and thought it was very well written by Luther Davis (The Hucksters, Kiss Them For Me, Across 110th Street) from a story by George Cuomo.
I was surprised that I'd forgotten how good Katharine Ross could be when she wasn't playing a goody two-shoes.